Current mood:

thoughtful

on the 'tax rebate' checks...
before everyone gets all excited about the up-coming tax rebate checks our darling gubmint is allegedly going to give us, i've some information you should consider:



"A word, or a few, about the proposed tax rebate checks:

It appears that the checks, this time, are not an advance on your
refund, but more of a tax credit that instead of being taken on your
tax return, will be mailed to you sometime after you file your tax
return.

If you don't file a tax return, you get nothing. If your 2007 income
is under $3,000, you get nothing. If your income is over $3,000 and
you paid no taxes, you get $300. If your income is over $3,000 and you
paid taxes, you get $600. If your income is $75,000 or more, the
amount you get is reduced proportionately. If you make $85,000 or
more, you get nothing.

It is estimated that these rebates will amount to over 150 BILLION
dollars. Where, you ask, is all this money coming from? It's basically
money that was slated for Social Security that will go to you instead.
So the already depleted Social Security fund will be getting $150
billion less than it would have before this "stimulus package." I
guess they decided that since Social Security will be wiped out by the
time we need it anyway, may as well just abandon it entirely. Prepare
to work until you die.

The idea is that we'll all take our checks and go out ad buy a bunch
of crap we don't need and all the businesses will make a ton of money
off of us and the economy will be just AWESOME.

But let's think about this a little bit. If you go to Walmart and buy
a bunch of crap, the only people who are going to benefit are the CEOs
of Walmart and the Chinese suppliers. On top of that, you'll just be
creating more work for the purchasing employees and stockers who
already work there and will not be benefitting from increased sales.
Yes, and maybe we all don't shop at Walmart, but everyone else does.

"So what's the best use of my little windfall?" you ask?

If you have any credit card debt, put it all towards that. Less
interest being paid to credit card companies is a good, good thing.

Donate it to a good cause. Organizations like The Nature Conservancy
are working globally to mitigate the accelerated extinction phase that
our planet is currently engaged in. At this rate, the planet will be
unlivable in less than 50 years. Our planet is equipped to handle only
half of the people who currently live on it, yet the population is
growing at a rate that will double the current population in the next
generation. Americans, especially, are the worst abusers. If everyone
on Earth lived the way the average American does, we would need 9
planets to sustain Earth's population. This planet has provided us, at
no charge, all of the things necessary to live: air, water, soil...
it's time to start returning the favor and giving back to it, rather
than continuing to exploit it.

(Getting off pulpit)

Maybe you're thinking, Fuck You hippie, I'm gonna buy myself a well-
deserved treat! (Clean air and water is a nice treat! Oops! Sorry.
Couldn't help myself.) True, you all DO deserve a treat! 'Cuz you're
AWESOME and I LOVE YOU ALL and guns are FUN!"



"Or..............

Transfer the check over to a charity. Red Cross or better yet Red Crescent Society come to mind. Homeless shelters, food kitchens, free clinics, rebuilding New Orleans, a children's hospital, libraries or schools. Put that money where our officials should have been putting it anyway.
Build a community."